Chapter Text
When Steve told his parents he was starting to apply to colleges they couldn’t seem happier. That attitude of course changed when he mentioned he wanted to be a theatre major.
To their knowledge Steve wasn’t involved or even remotely interested with theatre in high school, so it was quite the shock that he wasn’t going for a sports scholarship and a business degree (a.k.a. what they envisioned for him). But what his parents didn’t know is that Robin, Steve’s best friend and a dedicated stage manager, had desperately needed an assistant for the past school play and managed to wrangle Steve into the position.
The more he watched and learned and sat admiring during rehearsals, the more he fell in love with the art of stage acting. When he told Robin, she was very encouraging and convinced him to pursue it if he was serious. She even helped him research schools and start looking for monologues. He didn’t know what he would do without her.
They agreed to apply to the same schools because even though it’s corny as hell they really want to stay together get an apartment in a cool city. They talked about where they would work. Maybe a pizza place, or a record store, or even a fancy restaurant. I mean, the tips would probably be insane.
Robin still hadn’t decided on a major. She eventually narrowed it down to music and film.
“Maybe both? I mean minoring is a thing, I could always do a major and minor? Or would I be putting too much on my plate and already just setting myself up for failure?” She kept rambling, “Neither of them are very practical. I should just stick to music. I mean, I’m just gonna end up a struggling artist either way, aren’t I? Oh my god, the future is scary.”
“Robin, you don’t have to have all the answers right now,” Steve attempted to assure her.
“But I do! I have to have every single answer. Being undeclared is simply not an option for me, it’ll drive me crazy!” She exclaimed, nervously raking her hands through her hair.
“What about literature? You like writing and you’re really good at it,” he shrugged, thinking it would help. It didn’t.
“Steve, you’re not helping! I hadn’t even thought about writing. Just another thing to add onto the list of stuff I’m amazing at. Having interests and being smart and talented shouldn’t be making my life more difficult!”
She looked like she was on the verge of tears and Steve knew he had to calm her down before she pulled out all of her hair.
“Okay, look at me,” he put his hands on her shoulders and made her lock eyes with him, “You can go talk to like a guidance counselor or a teacher who could help you figure this out. Can you think of anyone who could help you come to a decision?”
She took a second, “I mean there’s my band director, but she’d be pretty bias toward me pursuing music.”
“Anyone else you can think of? Someone more neutral?”
“Not anyone that can stand me.”
Steve laughed, “Then I guess you’re out of luck. By the time you decide yourself it’ll be graduation.”
“Not funny. This is serious. This is my life!”
With how dramatic she was being Steve almost made a joke about how she should be the theatre major, but he knew it wouldn’t land at the moment.
“Well if you continue spiraling and don’t get your applications in on time I’m going to kill you.”
“Yes! Please put me out of my misery.”
He just rolled his eyes.
That weekend at Family Video, Steve was practically falling asleep behind the counter before Robin slammed down a stack of movies in front of him, “I think I figured it out!”
He stared blankly at her, “Figured what out?”
“My major! Okay so I honestly am really passionate about music and movies and I love to write so I think what would make the most sense for me is to be a music major, because it’s what I know best, while taking some creative writing and film classes on the side to possibly go in like a screenwriting path.”
She was smiling ear to ear, he could tell she was very proud of herself. He smiled back, “Sounds awesome, Rob.”
“Really? It’s not too much?”
“No, I think it makes sense. You could even do like music scoring for films or something.”
“Holy shit,” there was a pause as she just stared at him, “You’re a genius.”
He shrugged, “I have my moments.”
“Oh also, we agreed that we want to live in a big city. How do we feel about Chicago?”
It took Steve a second to adjust to the sudden subject change, “That’s ambitious. How would we even afford an apartment?”
“We could live in a shithole for the first year. I mean, I’m used to it.”
“Shut up,” they both laughed, “I’m not saying no, but we should definitely think of other cities.”
“Yay!” She cheered, “For sure. I love you Harrington!”
“Love you too.”